Ever wonder about the excess amount of retail plastic bags, reams of receipts and restaurant take-out containers that get thrown away?

Delbarton senior Liam Nash did, and was so moved by the waste he witnessed in the retail sector around him that the resourceful 18-year-old Bernardsville resident created a website and dedicated himself to helping both retailers and consumers make more informed decisions on behalf of their businesses and the environment.

Nash's journey began in a Chemistry class at the Morristown-based Delbarton School after he and his classmates were shown the 2010 documentary "Bag It," which followed the use — and misuse — of plastic and plastic bags and their effects on the environment.

"I'd never seen things from that perspective before and the movie really opened my eyes to how much plastic and waste there was in society," Nash said.

He soon became attentive to how much waste existed in his own daily life; for example, shocked by the amount of soy sauce, duck sauce, mustard, and fortune cookie packets that were nonchalantly thrown into his family's Chinese food takeout orders by restaurant workers, Nash questioned numerous other consumers about their use of these products and found that, like himself, at least half of those surveyed didn't use any of them and automatically threw these items away.

Launched last June and populated with his blogs on different aspects of retail waste, Nash launched his website "to educate retailers about simple but beneficial changes they can make that won't hurt their profits as well as to educate and motivate consumers to make small changes in their behavior that could have a big impact on the environment without representing any sacrifice to their comfort or lifestyle," he said.

Since it began gaining critical mass, Nash has used the website as a forum for dispensing sound advice on best retail and consumer practices.

For instance, he said, paper receipts represent a needless use of resources, lend themselves to getting lost, and the ink used in their printing can be toxic to humans and the environment.

Along with opting for e-mailed receipts, he also advocates the practice of bringing reusable bags to the supermarket to avoid the introduction of more plastic bags into the system as well as the use of apps like PaperKarma to reduce or eliminate the degree of junk mail people receive.

"It's also important for consumers to avoid companies that promote waste and to support proactive companies that are making good decisions and taking steps to reduce waste and enhance efficiency," said Nash, who applauds companies like Starbucks for its recycling practices and Scott Paper for the invention of its Scott Naturals Tube-Free line of toilet paper, which is helping to reduce the waste created by the 17 billion toilet paper tubes (which have no other purpose) that are thrown away each year in the U.S.

Currently weighing his college options, Nash said he'll be dedicated to sustainability regardless of his academic or professional pursuits.

"As a family, we've always recycled and Delbarton instills respect for the environment in all of its students, so whether I go into business or engineering or another field in or out of college, sustainability will always be a part of my life," he said.

To help others make sustainability a part of their lives, Nash recommends that consumers keep their eyes open and communicate their concerns or share their suggestions for more environmentally-friendly practices with companies. "If enough people start putting pressure on businesses to drive these beneficial practices, the companies will eventually listen," Nash said.

"It begins with a simple step, and if everyone does a little part, it can happen," concluded the optimistic teen, whose website promises that 'small actions move mountains.' "We can really make a difference, but it needs to start now," he added. "We need to take care of the world we live in."

For more information on retail waste or to access Liam Nash's blogs on the subject, visit www.greenretailalliance.org.